In the United States, late August and early September marks a time when children return to school and the new TV season starts. In terms of animation, the new fall schedule reflects some major corporate changes, including the takeover of Capital Cities/ABC by Disney and the establishment of two new broadcast networks--Warner Bros.' WB Network and Paramount's UPN--both of which rely heavily on animation.

The Mighty Ducks. © Disney.

The new terrestrial networks have effectively cut down the amount of air time available for syndication companies to sell their shows to independent stations, many of which have now become affiliated with one of the two new networks. Despite this, the amount of animation offered in syndication is still rather substantial. Some shows, like Dinobabies (Fred Wolf/Shanghai Morning Sun), have been successful overseas, but have yet to have aired in the US.

On the cable front, Nickelodeon its expanding the parameters of its animation programming to prime time, as its more adult-oriented Nick at Night block of evening shows starts to fade away in favor of its new cable outlet, TV Land.

With these changes in mind, what follows is a rundown of what's new or renewed on American television on the broadcast networks, cable and in syndication this coming season

The Tick. © Fox Broadcasting Co.

The Broadcast Networks
ABC: One of the most visible signs of Disney's takeover of the ABC-TV network is the studio's complete dominance of the network's Saturday morning lineup. Gone are such independently-produced shows as Reboot and Bump in the Night, which have been replaced by shows turned out by various divisions of the Mouse House.

Among the newcomers to Saturday morning is The Jungle Cubs, a sequel to The Jungle Book. The series, which debuts October 5, features Baloo, Prince Louie and other favorite characters who learning the importance of friendship and the laws of life in the jungle. There is also The Mighty Ducks, inspired by the Disney live-action films, as well as by the fact that Disney owns a hockey team with the same name. The characters in the show are crime fighting, hockey playing ducks from another planet and some of the voice regulars are Jim Belushi, Ian Ziering and Tim Carrey. It debuts on September 8 and is also airing in syndication. Brand Spanking New Doug is from Jumbo Pictures (now owned by Disney) and, yes, based on the old Nickelodeon standard, Doug. It begins on September 12 and shows how young Doug "gets by in life."

The Incredible Hulk. © UPN.

Street Sharks, from DIC Entertainment (now also part of the Disney empire), which enjoyed a successful run in syndication, will be added to the network's lineup, as well as also being cablecast on the USA Network. Distributed by Bohbot, it is an action-adventure series about four half-shark, half-human brothers who dominate the street as they enforce their brand of Jawstice and the Law of the Jaw. Also returning in syndication and premiering on the network is Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles from Disney Television Animation. It follows the adventures of a mystical, ancient clan of fearsome, winged creatures who come alive at night and turn to stone at sunrise.